Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

World War 2, Western Australia, WF49547 BEATON, Australian Women's Army Service, 1945

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Overview

Khaki Service Dress Jacket & Skirt, Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS), Lieutenant Charlotte Elizabeth Beaton, WF45947, (donated 1995)

Historical information

This khaki service dress tunic and skirt of the AWAS was tailored for function and modesty and represents the growing involvement of women in the military. More than 24,000 women served in the AWAS. Approval was given by the War Cabinet in November 1944 for the posting of AWAS members to take up signals and clerical duties in New Guinea where around 385 AWAS members served.
This jacket has metal AWAS shoulder titles. Initial recruitment was for clerks, cooks and typists, then military trades, including signals, weapons plotting, and drivers. Charlotte served in administration. Her brother Lance Corporal Peter Beaton WX14855 also served in World War Two with the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion, was a Prisoner of War on the Burma end of the railway and returned to Australia

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-75-585

Contextual information

This uniform formed part of the VP (Victory in the Pacific) special 80th Anniversary Exhibition presented at the Australian Army Museum of Western Australia from 6 to 24 August 2025

Links to additional resources

Service Records

AWAS on Rottnest

Last modified

Monday, 11 August, 2025

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Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

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